Extra crisp, beautifully spiced and ideal to dunk in milk! Not much is lost (if at all!) in these ultra special gluten free and keto gingerbread cookies!
Gluten Free & Keto Gingerbread Cookies
A True Holiday Special!
Just like my snickerdoodle cookies, these gingerbread cookies translate outstandingly well into their gluten free and low carb counterparts.
Making them some truly special cookies to indulge in over the holidays and Christmas!
Plus: 1g net carbs a pop. Doesn’t get much better than that!
The Gingerbread Spices
Gingerbread spices can vary a bit from recipe to recipe (and you can adjust a bit to taste!). These guys are dominantly ginger and cinnamon, with highlights of cloves and nutmeg (freshly ground preferably) and a touch of freshly ground black pepper to round everything up.
(Extra!) Crisp
These gingerbread cookies are truly nice and crisp! Just be sure to not leave the dough too thick, and bake until fully golden.
Having said that, if you’re on the other band and prefer your gingerbread cookies soft, simply make them thicker and bake until just set. You’ll get a nice crisp edge with a soft center.
Whatever you decide, keep in mind that sugar alcohols take a while to crisp up (so give your cookies a few hours!).
Also, if they didn’t get quite so snappy on the first round, feel free to allow them to cool down and pop them back in the oven for 5 mins. Think Italian biscotti!
The Deets
The one indispensable thing, is that the dough be thoroughly chilled before baking. Why? The butter in the dough has to have solidified once again before you can roll it out and cut it up. That way, it won’t stick and the shapes will come just right. Plus, you want to give the spices time to permeate through the dough in order to get super nice and fragrant cookies.
So, if possible, allow the dough to rest in the fridge overnight. Though 3 hours would do as well if in a pickle.
The Flours
Gingerbread cookies are traditionally a wheat cookie. To make them gluten free and keto, I found that super fine almond flour did a killer job (solo!). Add a touch of xanthan gum, and we’re golden.
In terms of brands, for the almond either Anthony’s or WellBees work great. Both are super fine grinds.
Note also that I add a bit more baking soda than is customary (1/2 teaspoon rather than 1/4 or even nil). Reason being, that the slight bigger rise helps aerate the almond flour and get a better texture.
The Sweetener
This recipe works best with erythritol, without a doubt. Not only is it roughly 1-to-1 in sweetness to sugar (and the volume is important here), but it lends a very similar crunch and chew. No other sweetener does that.
Also note that adding a teaspoon or two of blackstrap molasses adds a tonne of umami and improves browning.
Keep in mind that blackstrap molasses is considered a low glycemic sugar. One teaspoon (7g) adds 5g net carbs, so just 0.2g net carbs a cookie (i.e. 1/4th the sugar of a strawberry!). But carbs aside, it’s also known to be a nutritional powerhouse rich in vital vitamins and minerals; such as iron, calcium, magnesium, vitamin B6, and selenium.
Fun fact: Molasses contain high amounts of chromium, which has been studied to increase glucose tolerance levels.
But if it’s still not your thing, just do a brown sugar sub (such as Lakanto Golden!)!
(Extra Crisp!) Keto Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 192 g almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 80 g grass-fed unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/3-2/3 cup golden erythritol *
- 1-2 teaspoons blackstrap molasses optional (but improves browning and taste)*
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Add almond flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking soda, and spices to a medium bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined and set aside.
- Cream butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer, 1-2 minutes. Add in sweetener and molasses (optional), and continue to cream until light and fluffy (8-10 minutes).
- Add in egg, mixing until just incorporated. The mixture will appear slightly 'broken' (i.e. not thoroughly smooth).
- With your mixer on low, add in half of your flour mixture- mixing until just incorporated. Mix in the rest. Wrap cookie dough with cling film (saran wrap) and refrigerate overnight (much preferred). But if in a pickle, 3 hours will do.
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C and line a baking tray with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and cutout the shapes. Note that the thickness will determine much of the texture: thinner cookies will be much crispier, while a thick dough (particularly if under-baked) will yield a softer one. Place shaped cookies on the prepared baking tray and place in the freezer for 10 minutes prior to baking.
- Bake for 10-20 minutes, until fully golden. Note that I found baking time varies a lot here, depending on thickness and size of the cookies. So just keep an eye out for them, and note that if you like them crisp you'll want to push the baking time as much as possible (until deep golden).
- Allow to cool for ten minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely, as they'll continue to crunch up (can take a few hours). Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Note that these keto gingerbread cookies are even better the next day, after the spices have had some time to mingle. And also (for some inexplicable reason), the sweetness also intensifies the day after.
These are the best GF gingerbread cookies, and I have tried a few different recipes. I get rave reviews from my friends. I use ghee in place of the butter, and they still taste buttery. It’s even more fun when my grandson helps with the rolling and cookie cutters. Makes for a fun afternoon.
Really struggle to make crispy crunchy type biscuits / cookies.
Not sure what doing wrong, they either soft chew like or dry cakey. Do I try cooking even longer already gone to 16mins with 6 medium cookies in and started burning little on sides yet were still cakey.
Thank you for coming up with and posting it. My late husband and I used to be able to find crisp gingerbread cookies and an orange flavored cheese that paired really well together. Now I can have the cookies, though I’ve cut out sugar, and I’ve found orange flavored cheese recipes, through a search.
Look amazing! Do these have the “cooling effect”?
Do you think this recipe could be doubled and used to make gingerbread cheesecake bars??
Ooooh that sounds like a great idea Nurzbet! Can definitely be doubled, and yes- you can definitely make a ‘gingerbread’ (rather than graham!) crust xo!
Yay! I made non-keto gingerbread keto cheesecake bars and thought, why not try and use Paola’s recipe and make it ‘ketofied’! Will try it out this week if I get the motivation! Ty!
Ur gingerbread cookies were amazing as are all ur recipes!!! Xoxox!!
Ooooh do report back if you can! I also don’t know if you use instagram, but I love seeing pictures of you guys cooking (and getting creative!) with my recipes. xo!!
https://www.instagram.com/gnomgnom.yum/
If I doubled this recipe, think it would be good to use for gingerbread cheesecake bars?
Hi and thanks for posting this recipe! I was wondering if you’ve ever tried allulose in this recipe instead of erithritol? Im sensitive to erithritol and prefer the allulise but still want a crispy cookie.thank you!
Unfortunately allulose doesn’t result in crisp cookies… 🙁 are my feelings about that lol!
These gingerbread cookies are delightful. I didn’t have a cookie cutter so I rolled them into a log and keep them in the fridge/freezer. I can slice of what I want and have them fresh. My second batch, I added finely diced fresh ginger that I shook with some brown sugar (swerve). My oh my, you must try!
I would like to make these for a Christmas party, but someone is allergic to almond flour. What else might work? Thanks for your input. I love your recipes!
I would have loved to try your recipies but as I got so annoyed by the trillions of ads I gave up findi g the ingredient list… you should defenitly try to reduce those popups and pictures loading in between your text blocks.
Hi there 🙂 I made these tonight and they came out great!
Do I need to also store them in the refrigerator or just in an air tight container?
Thanks!
Made these last night. YUMMMMM! Thank you, thank you, thank you for creating this holiday treat which will become a year-round one. I made them thin because I love crispy. Plan to try the Gingerbread cupcakes next. 🙂
What’s the recipe for the icing????
Awesome best recipe. I ended up using half coconut sugar and half Krista sugar because I didn’t have Golden sugar. Worked out great.
Where is a keto recipient for FROSTING my cookies??
Will this recipe work using vegan butter (Earth Balance) and an egg substitute?
Will this work with vegan egg replacer and non-dairy butter?
I loved these cookies. They were actually better two days later.
Has anyone tried to make larger pieces of this cookie and does it crisp up well? I’m wanting to make gingerbread houses, but not sure if this recipe would work. I know keto recipes tend to have a hard time getting crispy sometimes. Thanks!
I would try double baking them Lindsay if you want to make them crisp and thick. Like biscotti, bake them until lightly golden, allow them to cool and bake again for 5-7 minutes. xo!
I would like to make a gingerbread house as well. I’m not sure how many times I should double the recipe???
I’ve been baking keto for about 3 years now and have tried hundreds of other keto recipes with occasional success, taste wise. But I have to say that so far every one of your recipes is a keeper that even family will eat. I’m ditching all other keto bloggers in favor of you. Thanks for awesome, no nonsense content and wonderful recipes. I am a happy baker now!
Paola,
Just following up to say that I’ve made these to use in myketo Carr’s lemon creme cookies and they worked out perfectly. I used your and Stella Park’s recipes to create the cookie and the filling and I’m so pleased with the results.
I just want to tell you how grateful I am to you for your recipes and insight. I have recreated all of my family’s traditional recipes into keto versions by using your guidance. I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and that you have a very happy and healthy new year.
Regards,
Linda
Made these Ketchup gingerbread cookies for Christmas and they’re soo delicious and I just could not stop eating them!
The cookies are AMAZING!! Thanks for bringing the joy of the season back to my keto life😊 will make them year round👏🏽
If I don’t have golden erythritol, can I use regular erythritol? What do you suggest?
Just wondering how long you think the dough will stay good in the fridge for. We let it firm up overnight and now we’re on day 5…😳😞.
3-5 days… its happened to be before too. My suggestion is that you bake a couple and see whats up (you’ll immediately tell if they’re still good or not!)
Hi.
I only have regular molasses, not backstrap, what is the difference and can I use what I have?
Thanks, can’t wait to make these!!